| "Go Down, Moses" | |
 Songbook page of "Go Down, Moses", 1873 |
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| Music by | Traditional |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Form | Negro spiritual |
| Original artist | Fisk Jubilee Singers (Earliest attested) |
"Go Down Moses" is an American Negro spiritual. Spirituals (or Negro spirituals) are songs which were created by African slaves in America. The Fisk Jubilee Singers are a group of African American singers first organized in 1871. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Spirituals (or Negro spirituals) are songs which were created by African slaves in America. It describes events in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically Exodus 5:1: "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the Lord , Let my people go, that they may serve me", in which God commands Moses to demand the release of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The opening verse as published by the Jubilee Singers in 1872:
- When Israel was in Egypt's land: Let my people go,
- Oppress'd so hard they could not stand, Let my People go.
- Go down, Moses,
- Way down in Egypt land,
- Tell ole Pharoh,
- Let my people go.
Contents |
"Oh! Let My People Go"
| "Oh! Let My People Go" (The Song of the Contrabands) |
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 Cover of sheet music, 1862 |
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| Music by | Traditional |
|---|---|
| Published | 1862 |
| Language | English |
| Form | Negro spiritual |
| Original artist | Contrabands |
Although usually thought of as a spiritual, the earliest recorded use of the song was as a rallying anthem for the Contrabands at Fort Monroe sometime before July of 1862. Spirituals (or Negro spirituals) are songs which were created by African slaves in America. Contraband was a term commonly used in the United States during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who came into the Contraband was a term commonly used in the United States during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who came into the Fort Monroe (also known as Fortress Monroe) is a Hampton Virginia, military installation located at Old Point Comfort, which is on the tip of the Early authorities presumed it was composed by them. [1] Sheet music was soon after published, titled "Oh! Let My People Go: The Song of the Contrabands" and arranged by Horace Waters. L. C. Lockwood, chaplain of the Contrabands, stated in the sheet music the song was from Virginia, dating from about 1853. [2] The opening verse, as recorded by the Lockwood, is:
- The Lord, by Moses, to Pharoah said: Oh! let my people go.
- If not, I'll smite your first-born dead—Oh! let my people go.
- Oh! go down, Moses,
- Away down to Egypt's land,
- And tell King Pharoah
- To let my people go.
Incidentals
The song was made famous by Paul Robeson whose voice, deep and resonant as it was, was said by some to have attained the status of the voice of God. Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson ( April 9, 1898 &ndash January 23, 1976) was a multi-lingual American Actor, athlete God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. It is also one of the spirituals used in the oratorio A Child of Our Time by the English composer Michael Tippett. An oratorio is a large Musical composition including an Orchestra, a Choir, and soloists The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the Opera A Child of Our Time is an Oratorio written by Michael Tippett between 1939 and 1941 Sir Michael Kemp Tippett, OM (2 January 1905 &ndash 8 January 1998 was one of the foremost English Composers of the 20th century The song was also sung during an episode of the American sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and featured in a climactic scene in the Preston Sturges film Sullivan's Travels. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an award winning American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10 1990 to May 20 1996 Preston Sturges ( August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) originally Edmund Preston Biden was a celebrated Screenwriter and Sullivan's Travels is a American Comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. The song also appear on the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, sung by the character Cameron with some changes on its lyrics. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 Comedy film written and directed by John Hughes.
William Faulkner titled his novel Go Down, Moses after the song. William Faulkner (born William Cuthbert Falkner) ( September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American Author Go Down Moses is an episodic novel by American author William Faulkner, consisting of seven short stories
On February 7, 1958, the song was recorded in New York, NY, and sung by Louis Armstrong with Sy Oliver's Orchestra. Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter
A Hebrew translation of the song is a common element in the Passover seder in Israel. Passover ( Hebrew, Yiddish: פֶּסַח Pesach, Tiberian: pɛsaħ Israeli: Pesah, Pesakh, Yiddish Seder (plural sedarim) is a Hebrew word meaning "order" and can have any of the following meanings For Jewish holidays
References
- ^ The Continental Monthly, Vol II, pp. 114-113, "We are indebted to Clark's School-Visitor for the following song of the Contrabands, which originated among the latter, and was first sung by them in the hearing of white people at Fortress Monroe, where it was noted down by their chaplain, Rev. L. C. Lockwood. "
- ^ Lockwood, "Oh! Let My People Go", p. 5: "This Song has been sung for about nine years by the Slaves of Virginia. "
Bibliography
- The Continental Monthly. Vol. II (July-December, 1862). New York.
- Lockwood, L. C. "Oh! Let My People Go: The Song of the Contrabands". New York: Horace Waters (1862).
External links
- Sweet Chariot: The Story of the Spirituals, particularly their section on "Freedom" (Web site maintained by The Spirituals Project at the University of Denver)
- Go Down Moses, Let My People Go - Words and Music
- Audio sample of the song performed by the German choir Outta Limits
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